Department for Transport

Tolls

Lord Hunt of Chesterton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have for local authorities to introduce and extend congestion charging for the purposes of traffic management and reduction of air pollution.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Local authorities already have powers to introduce road user charging schemes under the Transport Act 2000, and in general it is for them to determine whether or not they use these powers. The national air quality plan for nitrogen dioxide, published in December last year, set out a range of measures that we are implementing to improve air quality. The plan combines targeted local and national measures, forming part of a wider approach that exploits new and clean technologies, such as electric and ultra-low emission vehicles. As part of the national plan we are requiring five cities (Birmingham, Derby, Leeds, Nottingham and Southampton) to implement Clean Air Zones. Other local authorities can introduce Clean Air Zones should they wish to do so using their powers under the Transport Act 2000. We will consult on a framework for Clean Air Zones later this year which will set out the important principles that need to be consistent from city to city. Setting out the principles in this way will support both those authorities required by Government to implement a Clean Air Zone and those who, after analysing their own situation, consider a Clean Air Zone to be an appropriate measure to bring in.

Driving: Eyesight

Lord Bradshaw: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to permit the use of electronic signs on motorways and other major roads during Road Safety Week in November to encourage drivers to undertake an eyesight test.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Highways England uses electronic variable message signs primarily to advise drivers of immediate safety issues and journey information. Highways England is not therefore seeking to use signs to raise awareness of general driver health issues and will not be displaying messages to encourage drivers to have their eyesight tested. Highways England and the Department for Transport have expressed their willingness to support Road Safety Week by promoting suitable non-commercial safety information through social media.

Local Government: Biofuels

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to encourage local government, where possible, to use biodiesel made from waste food products.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation has supported a strong market for sustainable biodiesel made from wastes through double rewards, and benefits all economic players with an interest in encouraging the use of sustainable biodiesel. In addition buses that run on biodiesel are eligible for the Bus Service Operators Grant. Operators receive 34.57pence per litre of biodiesel used on their bus routes.

Aviation: Egypt

Lord Dear: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact on the British tourism and airline industries of the ban on air flights between the UK and Sharm el Sheikh.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: UK aviation security experts have worked closely with their Egyptian counterparts on the ground, sharing their expertise in establishing effective security arrangements. We continue to work in partnership in a spirit of cooperation, and are grateful for Egypt's close engagement and partnership. We look forward to achieving the return of flights once we can be assured that the necessary security environment can be sustained.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Housing: Construction

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their response to reported delays to Legal & General's proposed investment in a factory near Leeds to build pre-fabricated homes.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: The Government is keen to widen the use of innovative construction in housebuilding. We are encouraging this through our housing and planning programmes including Affordable Homes 2016-21, Build to Rent and Housing Zones, and through our National Planning Practice Guidance.We are also providing funding. Earlier this month, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government launched the Home Building Fund, which aims to provide further support to builders using innovative construction, in addition to custom builders, small and medium-sized builders, and new entrants to the market. Full details are published (attached) at www.gov.uk/homebuildingfundWe welcome Legal & General's plans to enter this growing market and operate a new offsite manufacturing facility, but it is not for Government to comment on the commercial decisions it may take around its launch date.



Home building fund
(PDF Document, 1.6 MB)

Local Government Services

Lord Hunt of Chesterton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to provide regular reports to Parliament on the withdrawal by local authorities of public services, including welfare, educational and cultural services, including explanations of how local authorities are meeting statutory obligations for the provision of those services.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: Local authorities are independent bodies accountable to their electorate and have a legal obligation to fulfil a range of statutory duties to provide key services. Within the framework of statutory duties, councillors are free to set their own priorities and determine outcomes.Local authorities have an important role in making their decisions on resourcing transparent. All local authorities produce public accounts, have open meetings and are required to consult the public, and all are subject to the Freedom of Information Act. The public are also entitled to have access to documents relating to council meetings and documents relating to executive decisions made by executive members or officers.The Secretary of State can request an inspection under section 10 and intervene under section 15 of the Local Government Act 1999 where there is clear evidence that an authority is failing either to discharge its functions adequately or meet its statutory obligations.

Social Services: Finance

Lord Mawhinney: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what financial resources they transferred to local authorities in 2015–16 which were designated to be spent on personal social services care; and what is their estimate of how much was spent on the provision of such services.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: Central government does not determine the level of resources spent by local authorities on adult social care. Each local authority will budget for what it expects to require in order to deliver the services required for their population, drawing on funding from local taxes, unhypothecated central government grant and income from fees and charges.However recognising the pressures on local authorities, the Spending Review 2015 announced that for the rest of the current Parliament, local authorities responsible for adult social care (“ASC authorities”) would be allowed an additional 2 percent on their current council tax referendum threshold to be used entirely for adult social care. 144 of 152 eligible authorities made use of this precept in 2015-16, raising £382 million for social care.My department publishes data (attached) from local authorities on their spending on all services. Provisional data for 2015-16 suggests that local authorities spent a net figure of £14.4 billion on adult social care in 2015-16.https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/548114/RO_Provisional_Outturn_2015-16_Statistical_Release.pdf



Statistical Release - HL2306
(PDF Document, 326.2 KB)

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Minimum Wage

Lord Beecham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, of the 700 employers "named and shamed" by them since October 2013 for failing to pay the minimum wage, how many were prosecuted; of those, how many prosecutions were successful; and what steps they plan to take to increase the number of prosecutions.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The National Minimum Wage naming and shaming scheme represents the end point of civil sanctions against employers who fail to pay at least the appropriate rate of minimum wage to their workers. Where there is evidence that an offence has been committed the case will always be considered for criminal investigation which may in turn result in prosecutions. But criminal investigations are reserved for the most serious cases of non-compliance. Our number one priority is getting workers the money they are owed and the civil route is more successful in achieving this. Criminal investigations by HM Revenue & Customs and prosecutions by the Crown Prosecution Service will not necessarily result in arrears of wages being paid back to the workers. This would require further civil prosecutions following the Courts’ ruling. Under the civil route, employers are not only faced with reputational consequences, but also face a financial penalty for breaking the law.

Business

Lord Birt: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the dynamism and capability of the UK business sector.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The UK is one of the most dynamic and competitive economies in the world, as borne out by measures of the effectiveness of UK competition policy and regulation, for example: •The UK is ranked 2nd in the OECD for the pro-competition stance of its regulatory policies •The World Economic Forum rated the UK 3rd (out of 138) for the intensity of local competition, 12th for the extent of market dominance, and 10th for the effectiveness of our anti-monopoly policies. As a result, we are ranked 6th out of 189 countries in the World Bank Doing Business Index; and 7th out of 138 countries (improving our ranking from 10th last year) in the World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Index.

Companies: Migrant Workers

Lord Birt: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what obligations they intend to place on companies to list their foreign workers.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Home Office. The Government will shortly be consulting on proposals to tighten the Resident Labour Market Test, which businesses have to undertake before sponsoring individuals under Tier 2 (General), the skilled work route for non-EEA nationals. This is not about listing foreign workers or so-called “naming and shaming” of companies. This information will not be published. The proportion of international workers in a company is one of the pieces of information that we might decide to take into account, as part of our work to ensure that companies take reasonable steps to recruit at home before looking to bring in workers from abroad. We will listen to businesses throughout the consultation and use that feedback to inform our decisions.

Unified Patent Court

Lord Stevenson of Balmacara: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when the UK will ratify the Unified Patents Court Agreement.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The result of the referendum has given rise to a number of issues concerning the UK’s future involvement in a unified patent system. I cannot yet confirm whether the UK will ratify the agreement on a Unified Patent Court but we are actively looking at options, considering the legal and political context.As I stated at the recent Competitiveness Council, I hope to be able to provide more information when the Council next meets at the end of November.

Employment Tribunals Service

Lord Beecham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the research commissioned by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills in 2013 Payment of Tribunal Awards showing that one-third of employment tribunal awards remained unpaid and only 49 per cent of successful applicants received their full awarded compensation, what steps they are taking to ensure that employment tribunal awards are paid in full.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has introduced robust Employment Tribunal enforcement processes, which can ultimately lead to a referral to a debt collection agency. A new process implemented in April 2016 allows for a penalty to be issued. The penalty is calculated as 50% of the value of the tribunal award up to a maximum of £5,000.

Airbus A380

Lord Jones: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the £530 million loan to Airbus in 2000 to support production of the A380 aircraft, how many of those aircraft have been purchased by UK airlines.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The repayable investment to support the development of the A380 wing and fuel system in the UK has secured over 2,000 UK jobs since the aircraft entered service in 2007. Airbus has received 319 orders for the A380 from airline customers world-wide and have made 195 deliveries, 12 of which have been made to British Airways (part of IAG).

Aerospace Industry: Staff

Lord Jones: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of the total workforce employed in the UK's aerospace industry.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The ONS estimate the UK civil aerospace sector employs 116,000 people and supports a further 113,000 indirectly through its supply chains.

Energy: Conservation

Lord Teverson: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have for the future of the Energy Technology List and the associated ability to claim Enhanced Capital Allowances.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: Since its inception in 2001, the Energy Technology List has incentivised UK businesses to invest in highly efficient plant and machinery as part of the Enhanced Capital Allowance Scheme, which provides a cash-flow advantage for businesses. Going forward, the Government will work to ensure that the Energy Technology List continues to help deliver our business energy-efficiency policy ambitions effectively whilst providing good value for money for tax payers.

Bus Services: Competition

Lord Bradshaw: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much has been spent by the Competition and Markets Authority conducting investigations into the bus industry, including fees paid to consultants and legal fees, over the last 10 years.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) was formed in 2014 after the Office of Fair Trading and the Competition Commission were merged. It has the function to carry out investigations into sectors where there is risk of anti-competitive behaviour.Since its inception in 2014, the CMA has carried out five Phase 1 merger investigations into the bus industry. The estimated cost for these investigations was £308,229.55. The Government does not hold information on the cost of individual investigations undertaken by the Office of Fair Trading or the Competition Commission.

Bus Services: Competition

Lord Bradshaw: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many investigations have been conducted by the Competition and Markets Authority into the bus industry over the last 10 years and how the total number compares to other sectors in the transport industry.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: In the last ten years there were 43 investigations involving bus companies, 15 for rail, 11 for airports, 2 for trams, 1 for cars and 1 other.These figures include investigations carried out by the Competition and Markets Authority’s predecessors (the Office of Fair Trading and the Competition Commission).

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Foreign Relations

Lord Hunt of Chesterton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the Foreign Secretary's recent description of the EU's position on access to the single market and free movement as "complete baloney", what guidance they issue to Ministers about the appropriate terms of discourse in describing foreign governments and international organisations.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: As we leave the EU, the Government wants to give British companies the maximum freedom to trade and operate in the Single Market. Ministers are clear about this objective, and are able to draw on a wide range of expertise within the FCO and across Government, to help achieve it.

South Sudan: Peacekeeping Operations

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their response to the evidence provided by the UN Secretary General which points out that the government of South Sudan is regularly undermining the UN Security Council decision to deploy an additional 4,000 peacekeepers.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: ​We have consistently lobbied the Government of South Sudan, both bilaterally and through the UN Security Council, to cooperate fully with the planning for the Regional Protection Force (RPF) due to be deployed to Juba to support the operations of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), most recently when our Ambassador met President Kiir in Juba on 13 October. We are exploring, with our partners on the Security Council, additional measures that might be taken to ensure that UNMISS is able properly to fulfil its mandate and the RPF is able to deploy.

Asia Bibi

Baroness Berridge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they last made representations to the government of Pakistan concerning the trial of Asia Bibi for blasphemy; what was the nature of those representations; and what was the response by the government of Pakistan to those representations.

Baroness Berridge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Pakistan about the application of the death penalty for blasphemy.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: I remain concerned about Ms Asia Bibi, following the postponement of her Supreme Court appeal hearing on 13 October. The British High Commission in Islamabad continues to monitor developments in her case closely. We raise regularly our concerns about misuse of the blasphemy laws with the Pakistani Government, and continue to urge Pakistan to adhere to its international obligations and uphold the rule of law. During his visit to Pakistan in March, the former Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), made clear our concerns about minority communities and misuse of the blasphemy laws.The UK supported the EU statement of October 2014 following the decision of the Lahore High Court to uphold the conviction of Ms Bibi. We will continue to work with our EU and other international partners to ensure our views are made clear to the Pakistani authorities.

Sri Lanka: Human Rights

Baroness Kennedy of Cradley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their latest assessment of the human rights situation in Sri Lanka.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: Since the election of President Sirisena in January 2015 the Sri Lankan Government has taken a number of positive steps to improve the human rights situation in the country. Although much remains to be done, it is clear that Sri Lanka is moving in the right direction.We welcomed the historic co-sponsorship by Sri Lanka of Resolution 30/1 at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on 1 October 2015 committing it to reconciliation, accountability and the protection of human rights. Since then, the Sri Lankan Government has made encouraging progress against its commitments including the return of some military-held civilian land, the passing of legislation to establish an Office of Missing Persons and the ratification of the Convention on Enforced Disappearances.We will continue to work with the UN, Sri Lanka and our other international partners to ensure full implementation of the UNHRC resolution, while recognising the scale of the challenge this represents and allowing time for credible, well thought out transitional justice mechanisms to be developed and implemented.

Syria: Peace Negotiations

Lord Marlesford: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what part they played in the 9 September Geneva agreement between the US and Russia for a ceasefire in Syria.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The 9 September Geneva agreement was the product of months of bilateral negotiations between the US and Russia. The UK plays an active role on Syria in wider fora including in the International Syria Support Group and through our Permanent Membership of the UN Security Council. We have further been playing our role in the wider political and diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis and on Sunday 16 October the Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Boris Johnson) convened a meeting of key partners on Syria in London. The meeting discussed various options for responding to the appalling situation in Syria, and particularly the worsening humanitarian situation in Aleppo.

Syria: Visits Abroad

Lord Marlesford: To ask Her Majesty’s Government why they advised Baroness Cox and Lord Hylton not to accept the invitation of multi-faith Syrian clerics to visit Damascus, Maaloula, Aleppo and Latakia in September this year; and whether they have studied the draft report produced by the pastoral group which made that visit.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We made clear that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office advises against all travel to Syria. The situation is extremely volatile and dangerous. We also make clear that we cannot provide any consular services to British nationals in Syria.In addition, Asad's regime can use visits by international groups to fuel its obnoxious propaganda. The Asad regime is responsible for atrocities against the Syrian people. More than 400,000 have died in the last five years; 85-90 per cent of civilian deaths are the responsibility of the regime.We continue to closely monitor the situation in Syria, including the circumstances for minorities. The independent UN Commission of Inquiry and other credible reporting from Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have made clear that the Asad regime bears overwhelming responsibility for this crisis. His regime responded with brutal repression to peaceful protests by ordinary Syrians calling for more freedom. The Asad regime and extremist groups, including those allied to the regime, are the main perpetrators of suspected war crimes, and for violations of human rights.

Euro-Atlantic Security Policy Unit

Lord Bowness: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the joint Euro-Atlantic Security Policy Unit, which was referred to in the National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, has been formed; and what its future role is anticipated to be when the UK leaves the EU.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The Joint Unit on Euro-Atlantic Security Policy (EASP) was launched on 18 October 2016. Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Ministry of Defence colleagues are now co-located as a single team leading the Government's work on NATO policy, the EU's Common Security and Defence Policy, and Conventional Arms Control in Europe.As set out in the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review, the UK remains fully and strongly committed to European defence and security. The EASP Joint Unit will continue to lead on these issues after the UK leaves the EU.

International Organisations

Lord Judd: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the changes to the selection process for the UN Secretary General, whether they are planning to initiate a review of the selection processes for the President of the World Bank and for similar offices in other international financial institutions and UN specialised agencies.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The Government strongly supported the more transparent and structured process that led to the recent appointment of the next UN Secretary-General and has promoted similar reforms in other multilateral organisations aimed at ensuring the best candidates apply for leadership roles. The scope for reform depends on the dynamics of each organisation, including their internal decision-making procedures and the views of other member states.

Venezuela: Guyana

Lord Howell of Guildford: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what recent assessment they have made of the government of Venezuela's claim to approximately two-thirds of the territory of Guyana, a Commonwealth member state.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The Government is aware of the ongoing border controversy between Guyana and Venezuela. This is a bilateral issue to be resolved between the two countries. We believe the 1899 Arbitral Award, to which we were a party, definitively settled the border. Both countries are signatories of the Geneva Agreement of 1966 which provides a range of mechanisms for dealing with this issue.

Northern Ireland Office

UK Withdrawal from EU: Northern Ireland

Lord Hay of Ballyore: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the outcome of the EU referendum, what discussions they have had with the Northern Ireland Executive on its role in negotiations on the UK decision to leave the EU.

Lord Dunlop: The Government is committed to working closely with the Northern Ireland Executive as we prepare for negotiations, recognising the particular circumstances that affect Northern Ireland. The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has regular meetings with Ministers in the Northern Ireland Executive. In her first two weeks as Prime Minister, Theresa May visited Northern Ireland, promising the UK Government would fully engage the devolved administrations to ensure we achieve a shared understanding of their interests and objectives as we prepare to exit the European Union. The UK Government’s focus remains on making a success of exiting the European Union and getting the right deal both for the UK as a whole and for Northern Ireland. In addition, the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union has visited Northern Ireland, engaging with the Northern Ireland Executive and key representatives for sectoral businesses and civil society, ensuring we build a national consensus to our approach to the negotiations. Ministers from the Department for International Trade and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy have also engaged with politicians, businesses and civil society from Northern Ireland, recognising the particular circumstances that affect it, including around the border with the Republic of Ireland.

UK Withdrawal from EU: Northern Ireland

Lord Browne of Belmont: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what engagement has taken place with the Northern Ireland Executive on the process of exiting the European Union.

Lord Dunlop: The Government is committed to working closely with the Northern Ireland Executive as we prepare for negotiations, recognising the particular circumstances that affect Northern Ireland. The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has regular meetings with Ministers in the Northern Ireland Executive. In her first two weeks as Prime Minister, Theresa May visited Northern Ireland, promising the UK Government would fully engage the devolved administrations to ensure we achieve a shared understanding of their interests and objectives as we prepare to exit the European Union. In addition, the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union has visited Northern Ireland, engaging with the Northern Ireland Executive and key representatives for sectoral businesses and civil society, ensuring we build a national consensus to our approach to the negotiations. Ministers from the Department for International Trade and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy have also engaged with politicians, businesses and civil society from Northern Ireland, recognising the particular circumstances that affect it, including around the border with the Republic of Ireland. The Government looks forward to discussing arrangements to prepare for exit with all three devolved administrations at the forthcoming Joint Ministerial Committee plenary meeting on 24 October. The UK Government’s focus remains on making a success of exiting the European Union and getting the right deal both for the UK as a whole and for Northern Ireland.

Department for International Development

Department for International Development: Private Education

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many staff of the Department for International Development stationed in the UK are in receipt of support for private school fees; and what was the cost in 2015–16.

Lord Bates: DFID spend on education allowance for staff in the UK in 2015/16 was £133,892.21. The number of staff in receipt of education allowance in the UK is withheld as the number is so low that it has the potential to identify individuals.

Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria

Baroness Suttie: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much private sector investment has been secured to tackle malaria as part of the Global Fund to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.

Lord Bates: The Secretary of State recently announced a UK investment of £1.1 billion over three years in the Global Fund at their replenishment conference in September. This includes a commitment to double private sector contributions for tackling malaria, up to a maximum of £200 million.At the conference, an additional $100million (USD) of investment was raised from the private sector to specifically tackle malaria and further investment will be raised in the coming year.

Refugees: Children

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their response to the UN report, published in September, that more than 3.7 million school-aged refugee children have no school to go to.

Lord Bates: The UK directly supports a number of bilateral education programmes for refugees providing indirect support through multilateral contributions to organisations such as UNHCR. Specifically on the Syria crisis, in 2015/16 UK Aid, as part of the No Lost Generation Initiative (NLGI), has provided nearly 392,000 children in Syria and the wider region with formal education and nearly 95,000 with non-formal education. Additional psychological support has been provided to nearly 199,000 children, and 350,000 text books to children in Lebanon, nearly 100,000 of which are Syrian refugees.The UK has been instrumental in creating a new global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises – called ‘Education Cannot Wait’ – which was launched at the World Humanitarian Summit in May this year. This fund will support displaced children to access quality education, as part of its wider mandate to improve education in emergency and crises affected countries. The UK pledged £30million for two years to the fund, as the largest founding donor, which will contribute towards the fund reaching 4.5 million children in its first two years. The UK also supports research on refugee education, education in emergencies and through a new partnership with the World Bank on their Global Program on Forced Displacement.

Department for Education

Students: Loans

Baroness Wolf of Dulwich: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many students received loans from the Student Loans Company for the fees for equivalent level qualifications at degree or sub-degree level in engineering, technology and computer science in 2015–16.

Viscount Younger of Leckie: The first release of statistics covering English tuition fee loans to part-time students in the academic year 2015/16 will be on 30 November 2016 in the Statistical First Release ‘Student Support for Higher Education in England’.

Students: Loans

Baroness Wolf of Dulwich: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many individual accounts have been opened with the Student Loans Company since the creation of that company; and how many of these are still active.

Viscount Younger of Leckie: The Student Loans Company (SLC) administers student loans for each of the UK Government Administrations. Statistics covering English student loan borrowers are published annually by the SLC in the Statistical First Release (SFR) ‘Student Loans in England’. This data is available in tables which exceed the limits of the Parliamentary QWA system, and is instead attached and available at: http://www.slc.co.uk/official-statistics/student-loans-debt-and-repayment/england.aspxInformation on the repayment status of Income Contingent Repayment (ICR) English student loan borrowers, who have become liable to repay, can be found in table 3A of the SFR. Information on ICR English student loan borrowers, who are not yet liable to repay, can be found in table 2 of the SFR.Comparable figures on students with mortgage-style loans (available to students starting courses prior to 1998/99) and students who received grants only are not available without disproportionate cost.



Student Loans in England: financial year 2015-16
(PDF Document, 303.76 KB)




Tables for Student Loans in England 2015-16
(Excel SpreadSheet, 231.57 KB)

Ministry of Justice

CAFCASS

Lord Ouseley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact on the protection of children in care and children in need of delays in the work undertaken by the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service.

Lord Keen of Elie: Data collected by the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) shows that, since April 2012, the average time to complete care and supervision applications has reduced from 48 weeks to 30 weeks. These are the proceedings most commonly initiated by a local authority and Cafcass has played a key role in working with other parts of the family justice system to achieve that reduction. Since April 2012, Cafcass has also exceeded its targets to allocate at least 97% of the open public law care workload to an appointed Children’s Guardian, and to allocate care applications to an appointed Children’s Guardian in no more than 3 working days.

Young Offender Institutions: Education

Lord Quirk: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Mobarik on 21 September (HL1561), how many hours of education per week is currently provided in Young Offender Institutions.

Lord Keen of Elie: Since 16 August 2015, education providers in public sector under-18 Young Offender Institutions (YOIs) have been required to provide 27 hours of education a week, supplemented by three hours of physical education.YOI Parc is operated by G4S and is currently contracted to provide 25 hours of education and 5 hours of interventions each week.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Information Commissioner

Lord Birt: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are planning to raise the level of the maximum fine that can be imposed by the Information Commissioner.

Lord Ashton of Hyde: The EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which will come into force in all EU Member States on 25 May 2018, establishes a tiered approach to penalties for breaches which enables Data Protection Authorities to impose fines for the most serious infringements of up to the higher of 4% of annual worldwide turnover or EUR20 million. Other specified infringements would attract a fine of up to the higher of 2% of annual worldwide turnover or EUR10m.

Department for Work and Pensions

Disability: Employment Schemes

Baroness Eaton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to trialling the introduction of personal budgets for employment support in order to support more disabled people into work.

Lord Freud: The Government recognises that people need support that is tailored to their needs. Personal Budgets are currently being trialled in Access to Work to offer customers greater flexibility to manage their Travel to Work or Support Worker costs. Initial findings from the trial are expected in early 2017.The Work and Health Unit, in partnership with NHS England, are also exploring options for trialling the expansion of personal health budgets to include employment support through the work and health Innovation Fund. This is being considered as part of a small number of health-led employment support trials that we hope to set up with devolution areas and as part of the ongoing development of Integrated Personal Commissioning where employment could be considered as part of a wider conversation to support the roll out of personal health budgets.A Personal Budgets model was previously tested in the Right to Control Trailblazers, which ran from 2010 to 2013. Disabled people taking part in the trailblazers were offered greater choice and control over the support they received, as well as the option to take a direct payment and arrange their own support. The final evaluation report did not find any evidence that the Right to Control Trailblazers had a significant positive impact on customers, both overall and by subgroup.

Disability: Employment Schemes

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of support services forpeople with complex needs when entering the labour market; and what steps they are taking to make recruitment processes accessible for all.

Lord Freud: We have been engaging with a variety of stakeholders and partners, including those with an interest in people with complex needs, to understand their view of current employment support. We will soon publish a Green Paper to explore a range of options for long-term reform across different sectors enabling everyone to realise their aspirations, regardless of their health condition or disability.The Government is committed to enabling all disabled people to fulfil their potential. Work is an important part of this, and the Government wants all disabled people and people with a long term health condition to go as far as their talents will take them.We are supporting this through Access to Work, which has specialist teams to provide a dedicated service to particular groups of people including those with complex needs.Our new Disability Confident employer scheme went live on 14 July 2016. When employers sign up as Disability Confident they are asked to make specific meaningful offers of opportunities for disabled people such as jobs, apprenticeships, internships, and work experience opportunities.

Disability: Employment

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that they meet their target of halving the disability employment gap.

Lord Freud: In the last three years, the number of disabled people in work has increased by almost half a million. But we recognise that the gap between the employment rates of disabled people and non-disabled people remains too large. That is why we are committed to halving it.Last year the Work and Health Unit was established to lead the drive for improving work and health outcomes for people with health conditions and disabilities, as well as improving support for people absent from work through ill health and those at risk of leaving workforce.The Unit has begun work to build the evidence base of what works to support disabled people and people with health conditions to obtain and remain in work. We are increasing the reach of Access to Work which provide support to an additional 25,000 people per year by 2021, and we have recently launched the Access to Work Digital Service which as so far received an average of 500 claims per week. We are more than doubling Disability Employment Advisors in job centres to help disabled people into employment and embedding employment advisers in IAPT, so that individuals with mental health conditions can receive timely and tailored employment advice.We will soon publish a Green Paper that will explore a range of options for long-term reform across different sectors enabling everyone to realise their aspirations, regardless of their health condition or disability. We will engage with disabled people, their representative organisations and a wide range of other stakeholders, who all have an important part to play in making the transformative changes required for long-term reform on supporting disabled people into work.

Disability: Employment Schemes

Lord Smith of Clifton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that deafblind people and those with complex needs are not prevented from securing meaningful employment due to low expectations of the professionals who are charged with supporting them into work.

Lord Freud: In the last three years, the number of disabled people in work has increased by almost half a million. But we recognise that the gap between the employment rates of disabled people and non-disabled people remains too large. That is why we are committed to halving it.We will soon publish a Green Paper on work and health.All Stakeholders have an important part to play in making the transformative changes required so that everyone has the chance to go as far as their talents will take them, including people who are deafblind and those with complex needs.

Occupational Pensions

Baroness Altmann: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what analysis they have conducted into changes in the aggregate funding levels of UK defined benefit pension schemes over the past two years for (1) FTSE 100 companies, (2) FTSE 350 companies, and (3) small firms and charities, on (a) a technical provisions basis, and (b) a section 179 basis.

Lord Freud: The Pensions Regulator (TPR) and the Pensions Protection Fund (PPF) regularly publish information on Defined Benefit (DB) pension schemes’ funding levels. In addition, a number of other organisations also produce analysis of the impacts of DB pensions using a variety of measures. Over the past two years we have been using this information to closely monitor changes in the aggregate funding levels of UK DB pension schemes.

Pensions: Fraud

Baroness Altmann: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many people in the UK were victims of pension scams in (1) 2014, (2) 2015, and (3) 2016 to date.

Baroness Altmann: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many pension scams were (1) reported, and (2) stopped by official action, in each year from 2010 to 2016.

Lord Freud: The Government takes the threat posed by scams very seriously and recognises that these can be complex and multifaceted, often spanning departmental and agency boundaries. It is for this reason that the Government established Project Bloom, a multi-department, multi-agency group of officials to help co-ordinate action to tackle scams, monitor trends and share intelligence on emerging threats. Members include the National Crime Agency, police forces, Pension Wise, regulators and key Government departments.Those scams which are reported, including Pension Liberation reports, are collected and collated by the National Fraud Reporting Centre (Action Fraud), within the City of London Police, which was established in 2013. However, the true extent of pension scams in the UK is unknown because many go un-reported.The data on the number of reported scams will include those which have been reported over the past three years by individuals, pension providers, the Pensions Regulator or other agencies but, on which, Action Fraud has not yet received any feedback from the investigating police force, for example, a report on whether suspects have been charged or summonsed. This delay is due to the complexity of pension fraud investigations which can take several years to investigate. Action Fraud would not know the outcome until the end of the court case. Frequently, numerous fraud reports will relate to a single suspect.The data on the number of reported scams also includes reports where organisations have taken action to prevent that fraud. Outcome feedback would only be received in respect of these reports if the Police became involved.We expect the number of charges and summons to increase as outcome feedback from investigating police forces for pre 2014 reports is received and collated. The available data is provided in the table below:YearNo. of Action Fraud Reports Suspect charged / summonsed20149111201580762016 (to date)2900Total: 2,0087

State Retirement Pensions

Baroness Altmann: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to ensure that individuals who are currently working in multiple low paid jobs without receiving national insurance credits will not lose out on their future state pension relative to people who are not working and still being credited for National Insurance contributions.

Lord Freud: The population working in multiple low paid jobs is not static and there is little evidence that people are engaged in this type of work pattern for significant periods in their working life, or that their state pension outcomes are affected, so many of those affected are likely to build up sufficient qualifying years in the future through paid or credited contributions. There is also a very wide gateway to National Insurance cover already: the lower earnings limit, the threshold for access to contributory benefits (including the State Pension) is set at the equivalent of less than 16 hours per week at the national living wage; there is a comprehensive system for National Insurance credits; people can pay voluntary contributions to protect their State Pension position, and finally, new State Pension allows for substantial gaps in National Insurance cover – up to 15 years over a 50 year working life – without penalty.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Common Land

Lord Lexden: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to amending section 29 of the Commons Act 1876 to ensure that a parish council which erects a bus shelter on a village green is not liable to prosecution.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: Town or village greens are an intrinsic part of the English community and from their earliest use have been a place where communities come together, celebrate fairs and festivals and take part in sporting and social activities. The Commons Registration Act 1965 provided for town or village greens to be registered and to secure permanent protection.Town or village greens are protected under section 12 of the Inclosure Act 1857 or section 29 of the Commons Act 1876 which means that works may not be carried out which could damage the green or interrupt its use as a place for exercise and enjoyment.. The Government has no plans to amend section 29 of the Commons Act 1876 but a Parish Council may carry out works where they would improve the enjoyment of the green and have received any other necessary planning permissions from the local planning authority.

Agriculture

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering: To ask Her Majesty’s Government which department will lead the Brexit negotiations on food and farming, including negotiations about the UK's future relationship with the EU.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: The Prime Minister will lead our negotiations for leaving the EU and will be supported on a day-to-day basis by the Department for Exiting the European Union, with Defra leading input on food and farming policy.

Agriculture

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what process they propose for deciding which EU legal instruments on food and farming are maintained, amended or repealed after the UK leaves the EU.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: The Government is considering the impacts of the decision to leave the EU, including future arrangements for existing legislation. We look forward to working with the industry, rural communities and the wider public to shape our plans for a future outside the EU.

Fisheries

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are consulting the fishing industry concerning its position following Brexit.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: The Government has met with representatives from the fishing industry concerning its position following EU exit and will continue to do so. This includes a round table discussion on 15 September 2016 which included representatives from the finfish and shellfish catching sectors, recreational fishermen and environmental NGOs.

Home Office

Forced Labour: North Korea

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that UK-owned companies do not facilitate the forced labour of North Korean nationals.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: Current trade between the UK and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) is minimal and covered by an overarching provision that any activities should satisfy existing UN and EU sanctions. These refer to restriction in the export of goods and financial assistance, which may contribute to the development of the DPRK's nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.The Modern Slavery Act 2015 introduced a landmark transparency in supply chains provision. This requires all commercial organisations operating in the UK with a turnover of £36m or more to set out what steps they have taken to prevent modern slavery in their business and supply chains each year. This mandatory reporting will allow consumers, investors, campaigners and others to scrutinise the activities of businesses and call businesses to account if they are not doing enough, including in relation to North Korean nationals.

Holiday Accommodation

Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to ensure that commercial short-term lettings of accommodation, such as those offered by the AirBnB website, are safe and comply with fire regulations.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 applies to houses or flats where the premises are not occupied as a private dwelling, including properties offering short term accommodation to paying guests.

Hate Crime

Lord Beecham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will implement the recommendation made by the Committee on Elimination of Racial Discrimination to collect systemically disaggregated data on hate crimes.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: There is no current intention to disaggregate hate crime data on the grounds of race, but we will keep that under review. Since 2010, we have improved police recording of hate crime. Forces now capture data on all five of the monitored hate crime strands, and from April this year, forces have started to disaggregate hate crime data on the grounds of religion.We have noted the findings of the Council of Europe’s European Commission on Racism and Intolerance following an inspection of the United Kingdom earlier this year. The Government’s full response to the report can be found as an annex to the publication.We are clear that there is no excuse for hate crime against anyone of any nationality, ethnicity or religious background - it has no place whatsoever in our diverse society. This commitment is underpinned by some of the strongest legislation in the world.We welcome that the Commission has recognised the strength of our new hate crime action plan which will help reduce hate crime, increase reporting and improve support for victims. The hate crime action plan contains specific measures to increase the rate of prosecution and ensure that enhanced sentencing powers are used where appropriate.These measures include refreshed Crown Prosecution Service policy and legal guidance for prosecutors on racially and religiously aggravated crime and on prosecuting social media cases, and publicising convictions and information on enhanced sentencing outcomes.

Hate Crime

Lord Beecham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their response to the report by the Council of Europe about the incidence of hate crime in the UK, the apparent failure to prosecute such crimes, and the lack of dataon the use of extended sentencing powers.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: Since 2010, we have improved police recording of hate crime. Forces now capture data on all five of the monitored hate crime strands, and from April this year, forces have started to disaggregate hate crime data on the grounds of religion.We have noted the findings of the Council of Europe’s European Commission on Racism and Intolerance following an inspection of the United Kingdom earlier this year. The Government’s full response to the report can be found as an annex to the publication.We are clear that there is no excuse for hate crime against anyone of any nationality, ethnicity or religious background - it has no place whatsoever in our diverse society. This commitment is underpinned by some of the strongest legislation in the world.We welcome that the Commission has recognised the strength of our new hate crime action plan which will help reduce hate crime, increase reporting and improve support for victims. The hate crime action plan contains specific measures to increase the rate of prosecution and ensure that enhanced sentencing powers are used where appropriate.These measures include refreshed Crown Prosecution Service policy and legal guidance for prosecutors on racially and religiously aggravated crime and on prosecuting social media cases, and publicising convictions and information on enhanced sentencing outcomes.

Compulsorily Detained Mental Patients

Lord Beecham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions have taken place between the Home Office and the Department of Health in relation to the increase in the use by the police of powers of detention under section 136 of the Mental Health Act; and with what result.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Home Office and Department of Health have been working to increase the use of alternative joint health and policing approaches and interventions that reduce the need for the police to use their formal powers of detention under section 136 of the Mental Health Act. Whilst overall police use of section 136 has increased, from just under 15,000 in 2011/12 to 19,410 in 2014/15, the use of police cells has reduced from just under 9,000 in 2011/12 to 2,100 in 2015/16.As a result of joint work with the Department of Health those suffering a mental health crisis are more likely to be offered alternative support. The introduction of initiatives such as street triage schemes and community based places of safety provide an alternative to the use of police cells. These types of interventions are proving successful and the Home Office is seeking to promote their use nationally using the £15m funding made available by the Department of Health to increase the availability of alternative places of safety.

Refugees: Children

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the outcome of the recent meeting between the Children’s Commissioners for England and France concerning unaccompanied refugee children in Calais and elsewhere, in particular on identifying and processing such children.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: Anne Longfield, the Children’s Commissioner, has met her French counterpart, Mme Avenard, Défenseure des enfants, adjointe du Défenseur des droits on a number of occasions to collaborate on work to encourage the French authorities to afford better protection to lone child asylum-seekers in France and particularly those who might have rights to transfer to the UK either under the Dublin III agreement or Lord Dubs’ Amendment 115 to the Immigration Bill.The Children’s Commissioners have discussed expediting the registering, processing, safeguarding and provision of support to lone child asylum seekers in France and particularly those in the camp in Calais. Discussions have resulted in Mme Avenard raising concerns with the French Government and also with Anne Longfield raising issues with the Governments in France and the UK.The Commissioners previously met in England on 28 September. Mme Avenard was interested in seeing the way in which unaccompanied asylum seeking children are registered and assessed in the UK and she accompanied Anne Longfield to the Kent Intake Unit, the dedicated children’s unit in Dover in which many children are assessed and processed. They also discussed the process under which children are transferred from Kent Intake Unit into local authority care.

Slavery

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they have taken to establish an enhanced Modern Slavery Helpline following the Home Secretary's announcement on 9 December 2015.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: In December 2015, the Government welcomed an announcement by Google and Polaris that they intend to establish an enhanced modern slavery helpline in the UK. Partnerships between business and civil society are vital if we are to eradicate modern slavery, and this project has the potential to make it easier for people to report suspected cases of modern slavery.Over the past two years, the Government's modern slavery reforms have resulted in record high numbers of victim referrals and of prosecutions and convictions for slavery-related offences. But there is more to do and projects such as this will help to ensure that even more victims are helped and even more slave- drivers are brought to justice.

European Arrest Warrants

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the European Arrest Warrant system will cease to have legal force in the UK following Brexit.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: We are leaving the EU but co-operation on security with our European and global allies will be undiminished.Officials are exploring options for cooperation arrangements once the UK has left the EU. We will do what is necessary to keep people safe, but it would be wrong to set out our position in advance of negotiations.

Immigrants: Detainees

Baroness Hamwee: To ask Her Majesty’s Government why, in the guidance for Home Office staff published on 9 September, for the purposes of assessing the mental health of an immigration detainee and of Rule 35 reports regarding particularly vulnerable detainees, a distinction is made between torture by state actors and torture by non-state actors.

Baroness Hamwee: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any medical evidence, including psychiatric and psychological evidence, of the relationship between the trauma and other harm suffered by a victim of torture and the identity of the perpetrator.

Baroness Hamwee: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consultation was undertaken before giving guidance to Home Office officials on adults at risk in immigration detention to distinguish between torture by state actors and by non-state actors.

Baroness Hamwee: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether torture by a member of a significant violent non-state group would be regarded for the purposes of assessing adults at risk in immigration detention as torture by a non-state actor.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The definition of torture adopted for the “adults at risk in immigration detention” policy is in line with that set out in the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT) although, for the purposes of the policy, it has been extended to cover serious harm inflicted by terrorist groups exploiting instability or civil war to hold territory.The Government adopted this definition as it most accurately reflects the need to protect those who are most likely to be adversely affected by detention – that is, those who have been harmed by the state, or by an organisation exercising similar control, and for whom detention is most likely to be redolent of the harm they have suffered.In order to be consistent, the same definition was applied to the reporting system in rule 35 of the Detention Centre Rules 2001 under which doctors working in immigration removal centres are required to report concerns that a detainee may have been the victim of torture. This has no effect on the requirement also in rule 35 for such doctors to report where a detainee’s health is likely to be injuriously affected by continued detention or the conditions of detention.

Organised Crime: Northern Ireland

Lord Hay of Ballyore: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with ministers of the government of the Republic of Ireland and the Northern Ireland Executive on cross-border efforts to tackle organised crime.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: Home Office Ministers have regular discussions with Ministerial colleagues in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland Executive. As was the case with previous administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings.UK and Irish law enforcement work together closely to combat serious and organised criminality. Since 20 May 2015, the National Crime Agency has been operating with full powers in Northern Ireland. The National Crime Agency has put in place dedicated resources to work with Ireland’s law enforcement agencies to tackle the threat from organised crime affecting both countries.

Human Trafficking: Northern Ireland

Lord Browne of Belmont: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what recent assessment they have made of the extent of human trafficking in Northern Ireland.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: An in depth assessment of the scale and nature of modern slavery and human trafficking across the UK, including in Northern Ireland, can be found in the recently published Inter-Departmental Ministerial Group (IDMG) report on modern slavery, available via the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/report-of-the-inter-departmental-ministerial-group-on-modern-slavery-2016.The latest published figures from the National Crime Agency reveal that in 2015, the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) – the framework which identifies and supports potential human trafficking victims – received 53 referrals of potential victims first encountered in Northern Ireland. This represents a 17% increase on 2014 referrals and 1.6% of UK referrals to the NRM.



Report PDF
(PDF Document, 713.64 KB)

Migrant Camps: France

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, in their discussions with French ministers, they plan to ask that the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees be fully represented at camps near Calais and Dunkirk; and whether they plan to press the case for competent interpreters and child advocates.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The management of the migrant camp in Calais, including any decision to dismantle it, is the responsibility of the French Government. The UK continues to work closely with the French Government at both a political and operational level on every aspect of the migrant situation in northern France.Although the primary responsibility for unaccompanied children in France lies with the French authorities, the Home Secretary made clear on 10 October that we will transfer as many minors as possible to the UK who are eligible under the Dublin Regulation before the camp clearance starts. The Home Secretary further emphasised that the remaining children who may be eligible to come to the UK under the Dubs amendment must be moved to safe facilities where there best interests can be properly considered

Migrant Camps: Calais

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to ask the government of France to defer demolition of the Jungle camp at Calais, until all the children there have been moved to places of safety.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The management of the migrant camp in Calais, including any decision to dismantle it, is the responsibility of the French Government. The UK continues to work closely with the French Government at both a political and operational level on every aspect of the migrant situation in northern France.Although the primary responsibility for unaccompanied children in France lies with the French authorities, the Home Secretary made clear on 10 October that we will transfer as many minors as possible to the UK who are eligible under the Dublin Regulation before the camp clearance starts. The Home Secretary further emphasised that the remaining children who may be eligible to come to the UK under the Dubs amendment must be moved to safe facilities where there best interests can be properly considered.

Counter-terrorism

Baroness Warsi: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 29 September (HL1969), whether they will place in the Library of the House a list of civil society organisations funded by the Home Office under the Prevent strategy for the years 2011 to 2016.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Home Office works with a broad range of community groups and civil society organisations who deliver community based projects and counter narrative campaigns to safeguard against radicalisation.Headline statistics are reported annually through the CONTEST Annual Report. In 2015, 130 community based projects were delivered reaching over 25,300 participants and counter narrative products developed in partnership with groups generated over 15 million online viewings.

HM Treasury

Financial Services: North Korea

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the government of North Korea, or any of its state-owned companies, has access to the London Stock Exchange or holds financial interests in the UK.

Lord Young of Cookham: As part of UN and EU sanctions, banks are required to close existing branches, subsidiaries or accounts in North Korea where it has been determined that they contribute to North Korea’s ballistic missile programmes. The sanctions also prohibit any commercial activity by the Government of North Korea (including legal persons, entities or bodies owned or controlled by them).Assets owned or controlled in the EU by designated DPRK persons, entities or bodies, including government bodies, are subject to an asset freeze and cannot be traded on the London Stock Exchange. A list of designations which has been placed in the Library includes a number of DPRK government and state-owned bodies. HM Treasury implements these financial sanctions in the UK. Non-compliance with financial sanctions is a criminal offence and HM Treasury works closely with law enforcement to ensure sanctions breaches are dealt with appropriately. For reasons of confidentiality, the Treasury does not make public the details of individual reports of frozen assets.

Financial Markets

Lord Vinson: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether high frequency trading has utility and is in the national interest.

Lord Young of Cookham: The Government sponsored the Foresight Project, which reported in 2012, to analyse the role, development, and impact of computer-based trading – including high frequency trading – in financial markets. The Future of Computer Trading in Financial Markets report highlighted the benefits of computer-based trading for the operation of markets, in particular relating to liquidity, transaction costs, and the efficiency of market prices, while also considering the implications for financial stability.

Cabinet Office

Overseas Students

Lord Beecham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many (1) EU students, and (2) students of other nationalities, remain in the UK after completing their university courses in the UK; and in each case for how long on average.

Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply. What happens in terms of the migration system that will be established as we leave the EU is a matter that will be very closely scrutinised and looked at in great detail by the government and within the government.



UKSA response to HL2095
(PDF Document, 64.42 KB)




UKSA table response to HL2095
(Excel SpreadSheet, 58 KB)

Public Sector: Disclosure of Information

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what criteria they set in respect of the requirement for transparency and openness in the decision-making processes of all public and publicly-funded bodies.

Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen: As a matter of principle, members of the public should be able to routinely access information that is in the public interest and is safe to disclose. Access to information helps ensure accountability for public authorities and facilitates better informed and more productive public debate.All public bodies have a publication scheme, which outlines what they will publish. The Information Commissioner’s Office provides guidance on the publication scheme for each body. This covers evidence of decision making, board meeting minutes, agendas, consultations and datasets, including those pertaining to public spending and to public service function, in an accessible format. Datasets are published on the data.gov.uk website, while other evidence is available on individual body websites.All central government departments are required to publish information about key aspects of their management and operations, including details of senior staff salaries and departmental expenditure.The Cabinet Office also publishes guidance for departments on transparency for their arm’s length bodies. This guidance states that they should:make an explicit commitment to openness in all their activities;publish details of senior staff and board members, with appropriate contact details;hold open board meetings or an annual open meeting;publish annual report and accounts;publish a management or mission statement;proactively publish performance data;publish spend data over £500; andestablish effective correspondence and complaint handling procedures.Statements by Accounting Officers are published in arm’s length body annual reports. The publication of these statements demonstrates how Accounting Officers have fulfilled his or her personal responsibility to manage and control the resources in the organisation.In its annual Public Bodies Reports the Cabinet Office sets out high-level information on arm’s length body transparency in areas including publication of annual reports and open board meetings.The transparency data published by government does not disclose personal data. Where necessary, minutes and papers which detail decision-making are edited to remove data which could be used to identify individuals.Transparency information published by the local government is governed by the transparency code. The principles that underpin the code are the same, and similarly, data pertaining to function and spend data must be disclosed. The code has just undergone consultation. Proposed changes include altering the way transparency data is published and presented to increase accessibility.

Department for International Trade

Overseas Trade: North Korea

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the number of companies owned by UK nationals or headquartered in the UK which conduct business with the government of North Korea or any of its state-owned companies.

Lord Price: The Government does not have data on the number of companies owned by UK nationals or headquartered in the UK which conduct business with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).Data on the value of trade between the UK and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea is published by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). In 2015 the total bilateral trade in goods between the UK and the DPRK was $814,700.

Department of Health

Mental Capacity

Lord Beecham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the number of Deprivation of Liberty orders sought by care home owners and the proportion which are rejected, whether they are considering taking steps to improve the system; and if so, when they will publish details of those planned steps.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The Department has commissioned the Law Commission to carry out a review of the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards. The review is expected to be published at the end of the year. The Department will consider what steps may be necessary to improve the system in light of the review.

Hip Replacements

Lord Maginnis of Drumglass: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the average waiting time (1) from GP referral to initial specialist surgeon appointment, and (2) from initial specialist surgeon appointment to operation, for a hip replacement in the English regions of (a) London, (b) the South, (c) the Midlands and East, and (d) the North.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The information is not available in the format requested. The information which is available is from hospital episode statistics (HES), which give a detailed breakdown of individual episodes of care by procedure, including hip replacements. Within HES, it is not possible to link the outpatient and admitted patient datasets to determine if an outpatient appointment is linked to a subsequent hip replacement. It is therefore only possible to show time waited between decision to admit and admission to hospital. A table of this data is attached.



Table of date HL2125
(PDF Document, 98.4 KB)

Surgery: Waiting Lists

Lord Maginnis of Drumglass: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many patients per 1 million population were on the waiting list for (1) hip replacement, and (2) knee replacement, in (a) October 2012, (b) October 2014 and (c) October 2016 in the English regions of (i) London, (ii) the South, (iii) the Midlands and East, and (iv) the North.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The information is not available in the format requested. Referral to treatment data are collected by 18 treatment functions and are not condition or procedure specific. Hip and knee replacements are included in the trauma and orthopaedics treatment function. The following table sets out how many patients per one million of the population were on a waiting list in the trauma and orthopaedics treatment function at the end of October 2012 and 2014. Table: Number of trauma and orthopaedics1 patients per one million of the population that were waiting on an incomplete pathway at the end of October 2012 and October 2014.2 RegionOctober 2012October 2014London5,7015,486South7,5068,493Midlands and East6,9697,323North7,3728,182England7,0257,578Source: Consultant-led referral to treatment waiting times, NHS England Notes:Consultant-led referral to treatment waiting times data is available for 18 treatment functions. Hip and knee replacements are included in the trauma and orthopaedics treatment function.October 2016 data will be published on 8th December 2016.

Surgery

Lord Maginnis of Drumglass: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what has been the average number of hip and knee replacement operations per one million population performed weekly (1) by the NHS, and (2) privately, during each quarter since October 2015 in the English regions of (a) London, (b) the South, (c) the Midlands and East, and (d) the North.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The information requested is in the table attached. The data is activity in National Health Service Hospitals in England and NHS funded activity in the independent sector. Information on privately funded activity in the independent sector is not available.



HL2127 TABLE 
(PDF Document, 119.49 KB)

Mental Health Services: Finance

Lord Ouseley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether additional resources allocated for mental health services are ring-fenced in order to prevent any of those resources being used for alternative services in order to offset any NHS spending constraints.

Lord Prior of Brampton: NHS England is responsible for allocating funding resources for health services including mental health. The Government has committed to an additional £1 billion by 2020/21 to support the implementation of the Five Year Forward View for Mental Health. This is in addition to the £1.4 billion over five years to improve children and young people’s mental health announced in 2014/15. We are holding NHS England to account through the NHS Mandate to ensure this investment delivers improvements in mental health. We will continue to work with NHS England and other arm’s length bodies to monitor and track progress against the mental health commitments of the Five Year Forward View for Mental Health and Future in Mind.

Rothbury Community Hospital

Lord Stevens of Kirkwhelpington: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have made to ensure that effective healthcare is available in Northumberland following the closure of Rothbury Community Hospital’s in-patient ward.

Lord Prior of Brampton: These are matters for the local National Health Service. We understand the decision was taken by NHS Northumberland Clinical Commissioning Group and the Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust in light of the continued extremely low use of the ward. As the suspension is a temporary measure, public consultation is not required.

Surgery

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to prevent the late cancellation of operations.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The commitment that ‘all patients who have operations cancelled, on or after the day of admission (including the day of surgery), for non-clinical reasons to be offered another binding date within 28 days, or the patient’s treatment to be funded at the time and hospital of the patient’s choice’ is included as a pledge in the Handbook to the NHS Constitution. A copy is attached. Every quarter, NHS England publishes the number of operations cancelled at the ‘last minute’ for non-clinical reasons. A last minute cancellation is defined as ‘when a patient’s operation is cancelled by the hospital on or after the day of admission (including the day of surgery) for non-clinical reasons’. The financial sanction for not meeting the pledge in 2016-17 is non-payment of costs associated with cancellation and non-payment or reimbursement (as applicable) of the re-scheduled episode of care. Every month, NHS England also publishes data on urgent operations that are cancelled by the trust for non-medical reasons, including those cancelled for a second or subsequent time. This includes all urgent operations cancelled, not just those cancelled at the last minute. Although there is no pledge for cancelled urgent operations, NHS England has set a National Quality Requirement that no urgent operation should be cancelled for a second time, and the NHS Standard Contract provides for a financial sanction of £5,000 per incidence.



Handbook to NHS Constitution
(PDF Document, 862 KB)